Overruled(29)

With my thumb over my shoulder, I gesture to Stanton that I’m going to catch a cab home.

He holds up a pausing finger. “Jenny, could you hold on for one second?”

He closes the laptop. “Don’t take a taxi home, Soph, I’ll drive you.”

I brush him off with the wave of my hand. “No, you’re busy—it’s not a big deal.”

“It’s a big deal to me. Just wait—I’ll be done in two minutes.”

Then he returns to Jenny. “Sorry. What were you saying?”

She hesitates. “Is now a bad time, Stanton?”

“No,” he reassures her. “Now’s fine—a friend just needs a ride home. Go ahead and tell me your news.”

He waits. And I swear I hear her take a big breath . . . right before she chickens out.

“You know what? It can wait . . . you have company . . . I have to get Presley to practice.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah, it’s all right,” she insists. “I’ll . . . um . . . I’ll call you later. It’s not . . . it’s nothin’ urgent.”

His eyes darken with uncertainty. But he still replies, “All right. Have a good day, then.”

“You too.”

With a few taps of the keys he disconnects. And that devastating smile falls on me.

“Morning.”

Stanton and I have never done a morning-after. It doesn’t feel awkward, just . . . new. Different.

I raise my cup of coffee in salute. “Morning.”

“I’ll just grab a shirt and my keys and then I’ll get you home.”

? ? ?

We pull up outside my townhouse and Stanton leaves the car running—apparently not planning on coming in. Which suits me fine. I push a loose strand of hair out of my face.

“Thanks for the ride.”

He nods. “Sure. And you too—thanks for the ride.” He winks. “Last night.”

I chuckle. “Ass.”

As I exit the car and close the door behind me, he says, “Hey, don’t forget. Our game’s at three. At the Turkey Thickett Field on Michigan.”

Almost every firm has a team in the DC Lawyers Coed Softball League, and ours has a shot at the championship this year. I’m good at sports—my brothers made sure I was—but I also work at it, because sports like golf, tennis, and racquetball can open career doors that might otherwise be closed. It’s all about the networking.

With a wave, I step back. “I’ll be there.”

As Stanton pulls away, I stand on the street, watching until his car disappears from sight. A twinge of . . . something blooms in my chest. And I find myself sniffing the T-shirt. Again.

Not good.

A run—that’s what I need. To sweat out the last drops of alcohol and get that addictive rush of endorphins surging through my brain. I text Brent, who lives down the block, to see if he wants to join me. Then I walk into my townhouse and am greeted by 150 pounds of black and caramel love—my Rottweiler, Sherman.

Like the tank.

My mother carried a fear of dogs with her her whole life, so we didn’t have any growing up. But when I got a place of my own, I fulfilled my childhood dream by getting the biggest, brawniest dog I could. Because of my late hours, I employ a dog walker who takes Sherman for his much-needed sprints three or four times a day, and staying out all night isn’t a problem. But he’s my baby and I’m his mommy—so even though his physical needs have been met, his heartbreakingly adorable brown eyes light up when he sees me.

I spend a good while scratching his ears and rubbing his belly.

Then I connect my phone to the speaker system and turn the volume up loud. Because I need something upbeat. Something snappy. “Still Standing,” by the great Elton John—on repeat. Unlike my mother’s fear of dogs, her taste in music was passed on to me. She heard “Tiny Dancer” for the first time as a teenager on her first day in the United States, and she’s loved Elton John’s music ever since. It played background while I grew up, the soundtrack of my childhood. I go to see him in concert any chance I get.

By the time the first chorus is complete, I’m already feeling better, bouncing to the beat as I change into a sturdy pink sports bra and snug black running pants. I’m stretching in the living room when Brent walks in the unlocked door, suited up for a run himself—a blue Under Armour T-shirt that highlights the sharp swells of muscle that make up his upper body, black shorts, and the metal arc of the prosthetic leg he uses for jogging.